Gardaí in Clare are warning motorists to ‘drive to the conditions’ and ‘heed weather warnings’ following an incident on the M18 motorway this morning.
The drivers of two cars lost control of their vehicles on the M18 southbound between Crusheen and Barefield. One of the cars left the road and overturned. The incident happened at around 8.30am.
Emergency services received a report of a car overturned on the busy route and that a person was ‘reported’ have been still inside the vehicle.
Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations responded to the scene along with National Ambulance Service paramedics and Gardaí.
One arrival, emergency services found that two cars had spun out of control and that one had left the road and overturned. It’s understood that there had been a heavy hail shower in the area around the time of the incident.
The driver of the overturned car managed to crawl out of her vehicle. Both drivers were assessed by ambulance paramedics but were found not to have been injured.
The driver of the overturned car was said to have had a lucky escape as here vehicle stopped just short of a crash barrier.
Clare remains under a Status Orange wind alert while Met Éireann has also issued a snow and ice warning for the whole country. Heavy hail and sleet showers have been reported across the mid-west this morning.
The head of the Clare Divisional Roads Policing Unit has advised motorists to be aware of and drive to the conditions.
Inspector Paul Slattery said: “We would ask motorists to be aware of the weather warnings currently in place in the area; to drive to the conditions and slow down. Motorists should pay attention to their speed but also the proximity to the vehicle in front of them. Cold conditions and hail or snow showers have been forecast for Clare today and drivers need to be aware of the dangers.”
Meanwhile, snow is said to be falling and ‘sticking’ in counties Limerick and Tipperary where a number of minor incidents have also been reported.